


Part of a whole

by StrangeNoise



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Day At The Beach, Escape Rooms, Established Relationship, Everyone is very in love with each other, Feeling left out, Feels, Insecurity, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Poly Relationship, Polyamory, Wonky android anatomy, interfacing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24491935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeNoise/pseuds/StrangeNoise
Summary: Sometimes Nines can't help but feel like the odd one out in his relationship with Hank and Connor. The other two seem to have so much history together and he feels like he's never going to get there. Not wanting to upset his partners, however, Nines keeps his sadness and insecurity himself until they finally force their way to the surface...
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor/Upgraded Connor | RK900
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Part of a whole

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BriWei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriWei/gifts).



> Something a little angsty and a little sweet for the lovely Bri who is a champ and genuinely the nicest person in all of TJ! I hope you enjoy this and it's somewhat what you imagined!

Nines looked out the window and watched the landscape pass them by. He hadn’t said a word in almost thirty minutes but he doubted that anyone in the car had noticed. The music of Hank’s favorite metal band was blaring from the speakers and the Lieutenant and Connor were half-talking, half-shouting about their latest case over the sound of it. Nines hardly stood a chance of being heard if he interjected something from his spot in the backseat, even if he had any idea what he could possibly say. So he was left to sit in silence and listen to the sound of Sumo panting loudly in the seat next to him.

It’s how things usually went when the three – or four of them, depending on whether Sumo was allowed to come or not – did something together. Hank and Connor talked about work-related issues that Nines couldn’t give any input on or topics just he didn’t know much about while he took the backseat and occupied himself with taking care of Sumo. Sometimes Nines told himself that he shouldn’t get so upset about it. He was the latest addition to this relationship so it was only natural that Hank and Connor would have more of a history together that they could talk about. Still, it didn’t make him feel better. If it was only about shared history, when was the point going to approach, where there were enough shared memories between him and the other two for them to include him in conversation, not keeping him out of it whether they noticed or not? Nines rested his head in his hand to hide the frantic yellow-red-yellow blinking of the LED at his temple and sighed. 

Next to him, Sumo let out a weary huff of his own and scooted a little closer so he could rest his big head in Nines’ lap. The android couldn’t stop the soft smile that crept onto his face at that and used his free hand to scratch the dog behind his ears. Sumo never seemed unhappy with how things were, Nines thought. Whether he was allowed to participate in the activities his owners were doing that day or he was just coming with them, he was always happy just to be there. It was a stupid thought, Nines figured, but sometimes he wished he could be like Sumo and simply be happy to be around Hank and Connor, whether they included him in what they were doing or not. But deep down, there was a yearning that he couldn’t stop. He wanted to be with them as a full member of this relationship and not just as someone they allowed to tag along because they would feel bad for excluding him.

Logically, Nines knew that both Hank and Connor loved having him around and that they enjoyed his company – they had told him so several times. But on days like these, he felt like those were just empty words. Maybe if he was still an unfeeling machine, doing only what his programming told him, Nines wouldn’t care. But he was a deviant now and that, unfortunately, meant he cared far too much sometimes. Most of the time he didn’t mind the onslaught of emotions that being deviant brought with it but sometimes he wished there was a way to take them back or at least dull them down. It would lessen the constant ache in his chest and maybe help him not to feel so bad about himself and his relationship. 

_ “Nines?” _ , Connor suddenly asked via mind-link, stopping the brunet’s train of thought in its tracks. The RK900 lifted his head and blinked, confused for several seconds.

“There you go”, Hank said with a deep, rumbling laugh, “We’ve been trying to talk to you for like two minutes. I was worried you powered down or something.” 

A deep blush crept onto Nines’ cheeks from one moment to the next and suddenly he felt very stupid. Here he was, pining for the attention of his partners and getting so deep in his head that he didn’t even realize when they actually tried to talk to him in the real world.

“I’m sorry”, he said, searching for Hank’s gaze in the rearview mirror, “What was it you wanted?” 

“I was just wondering if you were excited for your first time at the beach”, Hank wanted to know and Nines had to rein in his emotions to make sure no one saw how very much not thrilled he was about this excursion. 

When Hank had brought up going to the beach over dinner two weeks back, Nines had done some quick research and found out that his model wasn’t made to withstand the conditions of water – especially salt water. It was not that he didn’t know how to swim. That was a basic feature installed onto all of Cyberlife’s androids even if just for the purpose of ensuring their survival in case of emergency. The problem was that he was a prototype and to make him that much better than his predecessor, Connor, some changes had been made to the material of his synthskin and his skeleton. The skin itself was created by the same type of thirium as any other android’s but it was distributed differently throughout the body which made the skin easier to tear or retract. In everyday life that was no issue. His skeleton could handle a few scratches and some dust and dirt getting onto it and he could always clean it. But if he was in the water when his skin tore, the water would flood underneath it and could damage vital components – saltwater even more so than sweet water. Basically, if he went into the ocean and stepped onto as much as a single sharp rock that could destroy his entire body. 

Nines had been about to tell Hank and Connor that and that, therefore, he didn’t like the idea of going to the beach. But the two of them had already been far too excited about the prospect of going to the beach for Nines to burst their happy little bubble. He had listened to Hank sharing stories of how he used to go to the beach with Cole and how much fun they had had and Connor make all sorts of plans about all the fun human activities he could engage in. Nines hadn’t said much but smiled and nodded along and, somehow, neither Hank nor Connor had noticed how unwilling he was to go with them. 

Then, only two days before, he had finally told the two that he wouldn’t be able to go swimming with them. Hank and Connor had been ready to upend their plans in a heartbeat but Nines hadn’t allowed it. The two had been making plans for well over a week now and even Sumo had seemed excited by the prospect of going to the beach. Nines hadn’t wanted to destroy that and offered to just bring a book with him or look after Sumo. In the end, he had convinced the others to stick to their beach plan and now here he was, most of the way there and not the least bit excited. 

The others didn’t seem to notice, however, and Nines couldn’t deny he was glad about that. He didn’t feel comfortable but he also didn’t want to tell Hank and Connor because he knew they would either turn around on the spot or fret about him all day and not enjoy their trip to the beach at all. He nodded in answer to Hank’s question but remained silent otherwise for the rest of the way to the beach. Somewhere deep down Nines knew this was stupid. He knew that he should tell the others that he wasn’t excited about this and that he felt left out but he figured he had brought this on himself. He could have always said something sooner and now it was too late. Sumo huffed against his leg and Nines bent down to bury his face in the dog’s thick fur to try and distract himself from his misery.

At some point, just before they arrived, Nines somehow managed to convince himself to think positively. Maybe he could find ways to enjoy himself after all. He blamed his sudden hopeful mood on Connor, who got more and more excited the closer they got to the beach. Connor’s excitement was always contagious and it worked its magic even through Nines’ gloominess. They parked the car and got out. Connor took the heavy bag with all kinds of supplies, Hank grabbed their sunshade and Nines followed them both with Sumo’s leash in hand. It was a nice day and Nines was already beginning to wonder how he could have ever thought he was going to dislike this.

But then they stepped on the actual beach and sand got into Nines’ shoe and he decided then and there that he hated the beach. The sand made the sensors on the soles of his feet go haywire to the point where he could barely see anything between all the messages popping up on his HUD and when the others spread the blanket they had brought and he could finally sit down, he was immediately covered head to toe with sand. Nines had no clue how that even happened but he was sure it messed with his neat appearance and he was not too thrilled about that either. Once again, however, the others didn’t notice. Connor was out of his clothes and dashing towards the water in his trunks in the blink of an eye. Hank followed a moment later and even Sumo, who Nines had hoped would keep him company ran after them, excited to play in the water

“Traitor”, Nines muttered under his breath and busied himself with putting up the sunshade. That only took about five minutes, however, and soon enough he was bored again. Nines had originally bought trunks too in case he threatened to overheat and wanted to take something off but now all he wanted was to protect as much of his body as he could from the sand.

Feeling bored and awfully lonely again, he sat underneath the sunshade and watched Connor, Hank, and Sumo swim and jump into the waves. They were clearly having fun and Nines wished desperately that he could be a part of it. But he was far too scared about the prospect of injuring himself and getting saltwater underneath his skin. The risk was minimal but in the open sea such odds could easily change and as far as he knew he was the only fully-assembled RK900 model. If his body got damaged he would probably have to trade it for a different one and the thought alone made Nines want to bolt.

So he spent the rest of the day on the blanket sulking. At some point, the others returned and Connor offered an interface so Nines could at least get some form of an idea what it was like in the ocean. But the RK900 refused to allow that until Connor had showered and there was no chance of the saltwater still clinging to his skin doing any damage to Nines. Connor only shrugged and turned to towel off Sumo, who was dripping and panting in excitement. Hank smiled at Nines and Nines smiled back, trying to will his body to feel the happiness he was projecting. But ultimately he failed and he was miserable until the minute they left the beach again.

That night, when they were back home, Nines still couldn’t shake the feeling. While Hank and Connor puttered around the kitchen, putting away things and preparing dinner, they were talking about their day and Nines just felt left out again. He hadn’t been able to participate in jumping up and letting himself get carried by a wave so he had nothing to add to the animated conversation unfolding around this particular topic. All he could talk about was how sand felt underneath his feet and how uncomfortable it was to get it stuck to his body. The others didn’t seem to mind that however so he didn’t dare bring it up. Everyone was in high spirits and he didn’t want to bring them down. A voice at the back of his head was screaming at him now, begging him to tell the others how uncomfortable he had been all day and how left out he had felt but he didn’t dare. Nines still felt like it was his fault for not speaking up sooner so he kept his thoughts to himself.

But after dinner, it seemed like his charade was coming to an end.

“So, what’s been bothering you today?”, Connor asked as he and Hank joined Nines on the couch for some quality time together.

“What do you mean?”, Nines wanted to know, trying to feign ignorance but Connor’s expression told him that the other android had seen through him a long time ago.

“Come on, don’t act like nothing’s wrong”, Hank said, “I can tell something’s the matter with you. Your LED’s been yellow almost all day.”

“It’s nothing”, Nines tried to deflect again but neither Connor nor Hank were having any of it. The other android looked Nines in the eyes so deeply, the RK900 felt like Connor could stare right into his core and see the truth laid bare there. He realized there was no use keeping up the façade.

“I really didn’t like the beach”, he admitted, finally, his voice small and toneless, “I hated the sand and I hated that I couldn’t be in the water with you and that not even Sumo wanted to spend time with me today.” 

“Yeah, it was pretty obvious you didn’t enjoy our trip”, Hank sighed, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you guys were so excited and I didn’t want to ruin that”, Nines said, looking at neither of the others on the couch, “I thought we could figure out a way to all have fun together at the beach. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go into the water but I figured I would find something to keep myself entertained. But…"

“What, ‘but’?”, Connor asked carefully, taking one of Nines’ hands into his.

“I felt so left out”, Nines whispered, “I feel so left out all the time.”

“But why?”, Hank wanted to know, placing one of his big, warm hands on Nines’ back and rubbing gentle circles across it. 

“Because I was the latest addition to the relationship and I feel like you know each other so much better”, Nines admitted, a dam breaking inside of him. He didn’t want to hold anything back anymore. He knew it had been stupid to start with but now he couldn’t and he didn’t want to hold anything back anymore. “You two are so close and know so much about each other. You have history and I feel with how I’m made, with my lack of social interaction protocols, I’m never going to get there. I feel like I’m always just the third wheel and that you would be better off without me.”

The last sentence he said so quietly he wasn’t even sure Hank could hear it. Even though it was ridiculous, Nines was afraid that by talking any louder, he would speak something into existence that maybe the others just hadn’t realized yet.

“Oh, Nines, I’m so sorry”, Connor said immediately and Nines could hear in his voice that there were tears streaming down his face, “We never ever, ever want you to feel like that. You’re just as much a part of this relationship as Hank and I am. And sure, you don’t have as much history with either of us as we have with each other but that takes time. Give it a few months and we’ll have a history together.”

“Exactly”, Hank agreed, pulling Nines to the side and into his arms, “We don’t want you to feel left out and if we did we’re both very sorry. You know you can tell us if anything ever bothers you, right?”

Nines nodded. He wanted to believe what Hank and Connor were saying but he couldn’t quite convince himself. Nines did feel a little better in Hank’s arms, being held and told that he was loved and cherished. But while his heart was placated for the moment, his brain wasn’t. That was until Connor let the skin on his hands peel back and poked Nines’ hand until he did the same. The RK900 wasn’t sure what to expect from the interface and was taken aback when suddenly nothing but warmth and affection washed over him. Connor was laying his deepest feelings bare for Nines to see and it was so loving it was almost overwhelming. Nines could see himself from Connor’s perspective and feel the other’s elevated heartbeat and the joy that was connected to the memories. When the interface finally ended, Nines was shaking with the intensity of it and finally dared look up again. 

Connor’s brown eyes were glistening with unshed tears as he looked him in the eyes and said: “I love you, Nines.”

“And I love you too”, Hank said behind him, “I can’t shed my skin to show you so you’ll just have to take my word for it. But I’m pretty sure you guys have a lie detector built-in anyway so you would probably already know if I was lying.”

Nines couldn’t help but laugh at that. Hank’s tendency to still talk about them as if they were some strange machines sometimes was adorable and just one more thing on the long list he loved about the Lieutenant. The android’s skin prickled when Hank pressed a gentle kiss to the side of his neck and he let himself sink deeper into the comfort of his touch. At his front, Connor came crawling over to him and peppered featherlight kisses to his chin and the corners of his mouth until Nines’ LED went back to blue and his frown turned into a smile that stayed on his face for the rest of the evening.

“Next time we’ll do something you’ll like too”, Connor promised a while later, when they were all cuddled together in a pile on the couch, Sumo sleeping soundly at their feet, “You’re never going to feel left out again.” Nines wanted to protest, tell them this wasn’t at all necessary but Connor shot him a look that told him he wouldn’t allow any complaints so the RK900 stayed silent. And that night, when they were all sleeping in Hank’s big comfy bed, Hank on one side of him and Connor on the other, Nines began to seriously doubt there had ever been any real threat to him being a part of the relationship.

In the upcoming days, Nines would often walk into a room to see Connor and Hank jumping away from each other and immediately changing the topic of their conversation. They always spoke so quietly that Nines couldn’t tell what had been said before but he was quite certain it was about whatever the two were planning for him. In some weaker moments, he really wanted to ask about it but he knew Hank and Connor probably wouldn’t tell him anyway. So, really, there was no use in him trying to ask them. And if they wanted their plans to be a surprise, Nines was fine with that too.

Then, one day, Hank left work earlier, claiming he had an appointment. Nines knew the Lieutenant’s calendar and was certain there was nothing scheduled for that day but he let it slide. That was until Connor appeared next to his desk with a big grin on his face.

“Come with me”, he said, gesturing for Nines to get up.

“Where are we going?”, the brunet asked, turning off his terminal and hesitantly getting to his feet. He could tell today would be the day he would find out what Hank and Connor had planned for him and suddenly that made him very nervous. 

“You’ll see”, Connor told him in a sing-song voice and took his hand. When Nines didn’t budge, he pulled on it.

“Come on”, his predecessor urged, dragging Nines out of the precinct alongside him with a devious smile on his face, “Hank and I have a surprise for you.”

Nines let himself be pulled along but he didn’t really trust this whole scenario. He knew that all Hank and Connor wanted was his best but he also knew that if left to his own devices, Connor could come up with very strange plans to give Nines what he thought was best and more often than not Hank would go along with those plans. The RK900 knew this was still mostly about their beach visit, even though he had made it more than clear that he wasn’t upset about that anymore. Hank and Connor had promised they would think to take each other’s limitations into account more, now that they knew of them, and Nines was grateful for that. It was enough and everything further than that seemed over the top on the others’ part. But Nines didn’t want to spoil the plan they had apparently set into motion, either. If the others were making a genuine effort to make him feel more welcome in their relationship, the brunet felt like the last thing he wanted to or should do was to protest it. And yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of his stomach more and more. He was certain his LED was yellow and at some point, Connor took his hand and ran his fingers along the back of it soothingly.

They stood on the curb a little while longer, until a self-driving taxi stopped in front of them and Connor gestured for Nines to step into it. Once they were both inside, the vehicle set into motion and the city passed them by outside. Nines was still deep in thought, trying to figure out, where they were going. At every turn they took, he recalculated possible routes to destinations they had been to before but none of them seemed plausible. If the wide smile on Connor’s face was anything to go by, the other android knew exactly what Nines was doing and that was almost more frustrating than being unable to figure out where they were going in the first place.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see it soon enough”, Connor said cheerfully, “And I’m sure you’ll like it!”

Nines nodded and tried to calm himself but he wasn’t entirely convinced. Especially not when the taxi drove further and further away from the center of Detroit and into an area with mostly abandoned and torn-down industrial complexes. Some factories around here were still being used for their intended purpose but most of them had either been turned into underground clubs or were simply waiting for their structure to break down completely and for nature to reclaim the space they left behind. Nines had no clue what they could possibly be doing here but before he could even think to ask Connor, the taxi stopped and they both stepped out.

The sight of Hank waiting for them in front of one of the buildings managed to calm Nines down somewhat but not fully.

“Hey, cheer up”, Hank called out to him and wrapped an arm around the brunet, “You look like you’re just waiting for us to lure you into an abandoned building to get rid of you.”

“Considering the scenery it seems like a valid concern”, Nines commented with something that was probably more a grimace than a genuine grin but that still made Hank laugh.

“Don’t worry, big guy, you’ll get out of this unharmed”, he assured the android, “And I’m sure you’ll like what we have planned for you.” 

Nines was still not entirely convinced of that but he followed the other two nonetheless. He knew they would never make him do anything he didn’t want to. Really, his worry seemed a little out of place, Nines figured, but he couldn’t stop himself. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait much longer to finally learn what the others had planned for him.

They rounded a corner and found themselves in front of an old warehouse. It looked better maintained than the ones around them and the graffiti-style writing above the doorway didn’t read some type of slur but rather the words “Detroit escape experience”.

“An escape room?”, Nines asked, his worry immediately making way for excitement. He had wanted to go to one for ages now but most of them weren’t designed with androids in mind. This one, however, was android-run and equipped to entertain androids of all kinds. Nines had read somewhere online that even police androids sometimes had trouble solving all the puzzles and he was eager to see if he would do any better than them. To his sides, Hank and Connor were smiling proudly. Nines had just proven to them that their plan had been a good one.

“After you didn’t really enjoy our last group activity we thought this time we would choose something that would be more up your alley”, Hank explained as they walked up to the door, “Connor remembered that you talked about those things a lot and then set out to find one that wouldn’t leave you bored.”

“That’s awfully kind”, Nines croaked out, his voice box failing him somewhat under the onslaught of emotions, “You really didn’t have to…”

“Nonsense”, Connor chimed in and took one of Nines’ hands in his once more, “We’ve done so many things Hank and I enjoy way more than you do. It’s high time we do something you’re gonna love. And it’s not like I’m not excited to try this too!” Nines couldn’t contain the smile that spread on his face so wide it almost hurt after a few moments. They waited outside the entrance for a few more moments until he had successfully reined himself in and wouldn’t be hindered in showing his full potential in there by how excited he was. 

The android at the reception gave a long, detailed explanation that was mostly for Hank’s benefit. She could have transferred the information to Nines and Connor easily but since Hank was a human that wasn’t an option. And today no one was supposed to feel left out so it was only fair. The more the female android spoke, the more excited Nines got. During their ‘escape experience’, as the receptionist called it, they would have to solve several difficult murder cases that happened in Detroit over the course of the past two hundred years. Within the rooms, the androids’ ability to connect to the internet would be strictly limited so they couldn’t simply research what had actually happened. By the time she was done explaining the experience, Connor and Nines were basically vibrating with excitement.

They were led into the first room and the door was locked behind them. A timer was started that displayed their remaining time to solve the cases on a clock on the far wall as well as on the androids’ HUDs. The timer had barely started to count down the seconds when Connor and Nines were already off investigating the room. 

As it turned out, it wasn’t overly challenging for the most part but at the same time not so easy that the two androids would get bored. And while they both had worried that Hank wouldn’t be able to keep up since the experience was tailored to androids, it soon became clear that they didn’t need to worry about that either. Sometimes, a piece of evidence was missing and Connor and Nines couldn’t logically figure out, where the killer could have put it. Those were the moments, where Hank would step up and grab a random book from a bookshelf or lift the corner of the carpet up a little to reveal the evidence the androids had been searching for the past minutes. Every time it happened, they asked how Hank had figured out it was there. His answer was always a shrug followed by “It’s where I would’ve put it.”

As brilliant as both Connor and Nines were, it seemed that hundreds of years of human evolution and the instincts that came with it just couldn’t be beaten in some cases. 

After almost an hour, they solved the last case with just three minutes to go. By that point, the androids were flushed with excitement, and Hank couldn’t stop grinning at the sight of them. All in all, it had been a fantastic afternoon and Nines couldn’t have been happier with the choice of activity Connor and Hank had come up with this time. When they left the building to get to the car, both he and Connor immediately took advantage of their regained access to the internet and did some more research on the cases they had just solved. During the entire drive home, they kept talking about nothing else, telling each other and Hank about all the gross errors the police had made back in the day and how it had mostly been sheer luck the cases got solved after all. 

“So I take it you enjoyed your time in the escape room?”, Hank asked during a rare moment of silence, “At least you didn’t talk so much when we came back from the beach, Nines.”

“I absolutely loved it!”, Nines told the others without hesitation, “I’m so thankful you did all that for me when you really didn’t have to.”

“Of course we had to”, Connor objected immediately, “You’re just as much part of this relationship as we are and we really made you feel left out the last couple of times. That wasn’t okay and we’ll definitely try to do better in the future.”

“Absolutely”, Hank agreed and Nines could see him smile in the rearview mirror, “The three of us are a family and no one should feel left out in a family.” Nines felt himself choke up and he was glad when Connor seemed to notice and outstretched his hand to the backseat and hold one of Nines’ gently. 

“How about we get together after dinner tonight and think of some things we can all do together?”, Connor suggested and Nines and Hank were on board immediately. Of course, Connor didn’t even wait until they were close to home before rattling off the things they could do. 

Nines let himself sink back into the backseat and listened to Hank and Connor bicker in the front. This time he wasn’t holding back because he was feeling left out but because he was so happy right now, he wasn’t sure he could even speak. He hoped the others wouldn’t take his silence for disappointment but something in the smiles they shot him through the rear-view mirror told Nines that they knew why he was so quiet. And that they felt it too. That was the best thing in all of this. Finally, they all seemed to be on the same wavelength, understanding the other and looking out for one another. And Nines couldn’t be happier to be a part of this.


End file.
